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Tuesday, August 30, 2011

I have been sewing. Really, I have. Just not for myself. And not garments. I've been altering bags. Lots & lots of bags. Adding zippers, changing strap lengths, removing & replaceing snaps. I'm really enjoying it & the income helps me fund my crafting budget. :) Next month I'll be working on 2 custom purses, and I'm really excited about that.

I also put an order in at Fashion Fabrics Club. Shawn has outgrown his dress clothes (again!) so he'll be getting at least 2 new suits. And for good measure, I ordered 2 yards of a purple knit to make myself a top (probably from my TNT S4076) I also ordered a red wool Gabardine with hopes of making a cool weather circle skirt from Burda's Linda pattern.

And since it's hard to sew for yourself when you need to be sewing for others, I've decided to get back into embroidery. And I might even be delving into quilting.

That's pretty much it. :) Lots of sewing & nothing to show for it. But that will be changing soon. :)

Monday, August 15, 2011

I tend to think of my notions as the under appreciated sidekicks to my sewing machine hero. (Now there's a great comic book idea)

Really, where would we seamstresses be without the proper tools? I gotta tell ya, when I started sewing I was amazed (and still am!) at what a small role my sewing machine plays when it comes to the overall picture of sewing.

How much time is spent sitting at the sewing machine? Thirty percent? Forty? If you include laying & cutting out your fabric, I doubt it make it to the 50% mark. It's something I'm going to have to think about. Maybe even record.

Ah, my Dritz seam gauge. The same one my mom had when I was growing up. It's utilitarian through & through. No bells or whistles, but it works beautifully. The only thing that might throw a wrench in the works is if you unknowingly melt the little blue slider with your iron. Ask me how I know.

A Syling Ruler. I went a long time without one of these because I couldn't ever dint hem at Joann's. I don't know if they were there all along (if it would've been a snake....) but one day I found them at the end of the yarn aisle. Whatever. I was just happy to have found one. These are absolutely fantastic when it comes to alterations & drafting.

Magnetic pincushion. Again, the same type my mom had when I was growing up. I love that I can (almost) carelessly drop my pins in the general vicinity & they get sucked in. One word of caution, however. Don't drop them on hard wood floors. The explode pins in each direction; becoming a grenade of sorts.

This is probably my favorite find. It's a Chalk Cartridge set. It comes with a rainbow of colors of chalk, a holder & a sharpener. I love the versatility that it offers as far as colors. And chalk is an ok way to mark. Unless you're marking knits. Then it's just annoying. It does rub off rather easily, but I've noticed that when I use this, it does have better staying power.

This is my most recent "nifty notion" buy. The Clover Stack 'N Store Bobbin Tower. I even love it's name. :) I've been using it for a couple months now, and I love it. It holds 30 bobbins & I imagine that you could add to it; it being a tower & all. The one drawback, and I admit, it's really silly, but it is UGLY. I mean, green & yellow?!? I imagine that it's meant to be neutral as to fit into any sewing room ambiance, but wow. It makes me think of this:

Thursday, August 4, 2011

Well, just as I had anticipated, July proved to be quite busy. But in the last couple weeks, I've started up a whole new sewing endeavor.

I may have mentioned it in passing before, but (prepare for a semi-long back story) when I was pregnant with my son and shopping for a fabulous diaper bag, I discovered Ju Ju Be. And it was the beginning of a long love affair. I've owned nearly every bag that JJB has come out with & I've loved them all to varying degrees. Right now my go to is the Be Hip in Fuchsia Blossoms.

Hello, gorgeous.

To go along with the fabulous JJB diaper bags is a fabulous forum which has been termed the Pink Room. It's where all the JJB fanatics hang out & talk about bags, mommyhood, pregnancy, crafting, t.v....well, we pretty much talk about it all. We're quite the chatty bunch. The Pink Room is also a wonderful place to buy & sell your gently used & well loved JJBs.

So, back to the 'new endeavors'. I'm going to be customizing these bags. Little things, adding zippers, resizing, strap alterations, things like that. So, while I'm hoping to continue to have time to sew for myself, I'll be sharing most of my sewing time with others. :) I do have a few little projects still in teh early planning stages, but, well. That's what I've been up to.